Tester Introduces Legislation to Push Back Against Nationwide Internet Sales Tax

Senator Demands Administration Reconsider Position on Bill that Would Hurt Montana Businesses

(U.S. Senate) – U.S. Senator Jon Tester is fighting for Montana businesses and taking a stand against a nationwide online sales tax.

Today Tester introduced a resolution opposing a bill that would require businesses selling products or services over the internet to collect sales tax, even if the seller is located in a state without a sales tax.

“Passage of the Marketplace Fairness Act would harm our economy and place burdensome and bureaucratic policies on small businesses and entrepreneurs,” the resolution reads. “It should not be the role of small businesses and entrepreneurs to help shore up the finances of states and localities through an online sales tax.”

Under the so-called Marketplace Fairness Act, small businesses and retailers in Montana that sell their products or services online would be forced to collect sales taxes for nearly 10,000 other states, cities and municipalities—despite the fact that Montanans have voted against implementing a sales tax not once, but twice in 1971 and 1993.

In addition to the Resolution, Tester is also calling on Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin to reconsider his position on the bill and demanding that this piece of legislation include adequate safeguards for states with no sales tax.

“Small businesses from every corner of Montana all agree that this federal sales tax legislation would stifle economic growth, add burdensome regulations, and provide no benefit to businesses or the State of Montana’s bottom line,” Tester wrote in a recent letter to Mnuchin. “I am strongly opposed to this sales tax bill and I respectfully urge the Administration to reconsider its position on this bill that would add unfunded costly regulations to small businesses in Montana and would effectively create a national online sales tax.”

Tester has long been a staunch defender of Montana’s small businesses, especially when it comes to an online sales tax.

The text of the resolution can be found HERE. Tester’s letter to Secretary Mnuchin is available HERE.